Macbeth Quote Analysis

Ross finally reveals to Macduff that his family has been murdered. He has delayed telling this news throughout the preceding conversation.

The passive construction 'is surpris'd' and the past participle 'slaughter'd' remove all agency—we don't see who acted, only the completed violence. This grammatical choice mirrors Ross's reluctance to speak; even his syntax tries to soften the blow by avoiding an active subject (Macbeth's men murdered them). The adverb 'Savagely' is the only evaluative word, doing all the emotional work in an otherwise factual sentence, which makes its brutality hit harder.

Use this to argue that Ross's passive-voice delivery isn't just trauma or tact—it's a structural representation of how tyranny obscures responsibility, making atrocities appear as if they simply happened rather than were committed by specific, nameable people.